To strengthen and support young people in the faith, members of the Synod of Bishops will need to listen to their real-life stories, interpret what they hear in the light of the Gospel and make decisions that will lead to an authentic renewal of the Catholic Church, said Brazilian Cardinal Sergio da Rocha.
With less than one month to go before the opening of the synod on “Young people, faith and vocational discernment,” it is now clear that whatever was on the agenda has been rendered null and void in light of the global crisis in which the church is now enmeshed.
The Synod of Bishops will meet in October to try to look at the world and the Catholic Church through the eyes of teenagers and young adults and find ways to encourage their enthusiasm and dreams, help them sift through the possibilities life offers them to serve others and resist the temptations that come their way.
The Synod of Bishops increasingly should be a structure for listening to the Catholic faithful, demonstrating a local bishop’s concern for the entire church and a means of expressing all the bishops’ unity with the pope, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis’ appointees to the Synod of Bishops meeting Oct. 3-28 were announced Sept. 15 and included Canadian Cardinal Gerald LaCroix of Quebec and U.S. Cardinals Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, and Blase J. Cupich of Chicago.
The Diocesan Pastoral Council, an advisory council to Bishop Donald Kettler, met Sept. 1 at St. Francis de Sales Church in Belgrade.
A question that Brother Javier Hansen has been pondering is how to motivate young people to make mature life choices in the faith.
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput is asking Pope Francis to call off the Synod of Bishops on young people this October to focus instead on the life of the bishops.
